Your Wedding Day Changed More Than Your Relationship Status: How an Estate Planning Lawyer in Michigan Can Help
You carefully crafted your will years ago, ensuring your assets would go to your parents, siblings, or favorite charity. Then you got married, and life got busy with honeymoon planning, merging households, and settling into married life. But here’s what many newlyweds don’t realize: Michigan law automatically rewrites parts of your will the moment you say "I do," potentially giving your new spouse a significant share of your estate even if your will doesn’t mention them at all. This legal provision, known as the pretermitted spouse statute under MCL 700.2301, means that marriage fundamentally alters your estate plan whether you intended it or not. Understanding these automatic changes and taking prompt action to update your estate planning documents can prevent family conflicts, ensure your wishes are honored, and protect both your spouse and other beneficiaries according to your true intentions.
💡 Pro Tip: Mark your calendar to review your will within 60 days of marriage – this gives you time to settle into married life while ensuring you don’t forget this critical financial task.
Marriage is a life-changing milestone, and it’s essential to ensure your estate plan aligns with this new chapter. CF Legal is here to help you smoothly transition and secure your future. Don’t wait until it’s too late; reach out today at 810-232-1112 or contact us to protect what matters most.
Michigan’s Pretermitted Spouse Law: Automatic Inheritance Rights You Need to Know
Michigan law recognizes that people often forget to update their wills after major life changes, which is why MCL 700.2301 creates automatic protections for spouses who marry someone with an existing will. If you made a will and then got married, Michigan law automatically gives your spouse a share of your estate, even if your will does not mention them. This pretermitted spouse provision ensures your new spouse receives no less than they would have received if you had died without a will at all – what’s called an intestate share. Working with an estate planning lawyer in Michigan becomes essential because this automatic provision can significantly alter your intended distribution plan, potentially reducing what your original beneficiaries receive.
The law presumes you would want to provide for your new spouse, but it also recognizes there might be exceptions. Property specifically devised to a child of yours who was born before the marriage and who is not your surviving spouse’s child remains protected from the pretermitted spouse provision. Additionally, if you made provisions for your spouse outside the will (such as through life insurance or retirement accounts) or if your will explicitly states you’re intentionally excluding your future spouse, the automatic inheritance rules may not apply. However, even with these exceptions, the surviving spouse can take BOTH the pretermitted spouse share under MCL 700.2301 (if eligible) and the general spousal elective share under MCL 700.2202(2), though the pretermitted share reduces the elective share amount.
💡 Pro Tip: Create a detailed list of all your assets and current beneficiary designations before meeting with your attorney – this helps identify which assets are affected by marriage and which remain separate.
Critical Timeline: When and How to Update Your Michigan Will After Marriage
Timing matters when updating your estate plan after marriage, and understanding the key milestones helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Many couples assume they have plenty of time to address estate planning after the wedding, but life has a way of intervening. An estate planning lawyer in Michigan typically recommends this timeline to protect your interests and honor your wishes while accommodating the realities of newlywed life:
- Before the Wedding: Review your existing will and discuss estate planning goals with your future spouse to identify potential conflicts or concerns
- Within 30 Days After Marriage: Schedule a consultation to discuss how Michigan’s automatic spousal rights affect your existing plan
- 60-90 Days Post-Wedding: Execute updated estate planning documents that reflect your new marital status and joint decisions
- Annual Reviews: Set a recurring reminder to review beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts, as these assets pass outside your will
- After Major Life Events: Update your will following the birth of children, significant asset purchases, or receipt of inheritances
💡 Pro Tip: Coordinate will updates with other post-marriage tasks like changing your name on accounts or updating insurance policies – bundling these tasks makes the process more efficient.
Protecting Your Legacy: How CF Legal Guides Couples Through Post-Marriage Estate Planning
Updating your will after marriage involves more than simply adding your spouse’s name to documents. CF Legal understands that modern families come in all configurations – perhaps you’re bringing children from a previous relationship, managing separate property you want to preserve, or balancing obligations to aging parents with providing for your new spouse. An experienced estate planning lawyer in Michigan can help you navigate these complexities while ensuring your updated plan complies with Michigan law and truly reflects your wishes. The process typically begins with a comprehensive review of your existing documents, assessment of how marriage has changed your legal landscape, and strategic planning to achieve your goals while maximizing protections for all your loved ones.
💡 Pro Tip: Bring your spouse to estate planning meetings whenever possible – open communication about these decisions strengthens your marriage and prevents misunderstandings.
Beyond the Will: How Marriage Affects Your Entire Michigan Estate Plan
While much attention focuses on updating your will after marriage, Michigan law’s impact extends far beyond this single document. Life insurance policies are considered separate property if the first premium payment was made while the policy owner resided in a common law state or while the policy owner was unmarried, but policies acquired during marriage may be considered community property. Similarly, employee benefits accumulated before marriage are the separate property of the spouse who earned them, while those accumulated during marriage are classified as community property. Interestingly, federal law may give benefits to the non-employee spouse that are even greater than community property rights, adding another layer of complexity to post-marriage planning. Understanding these distinctions helps ensure your estate plan accounts for all assets, not just those passing through your will.
Updating Beneficiary Designations and Avoiding Conflicts
One of the most overlooked aspects of post-marriage estate planning involves beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and investment accounts. These designations override your will, meaning that failing to update them after marriage can create significant conflicts. An estate planning lawyer in Michigan often sees cases where an ex-spouse remains the beneficiary on a 401(k) while the will leaves everything to the new spouse, creating legal battles and family strife. We recommend creating a comprehensive beneficiary review checklist that includes employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, life insurance policies (both group and individual), investment and brokerage accounts, and even less obvious assets like health savings accounts or prepaid college tuition plans.
💡 Pro Tip: Contact your HR department for beneficiary change forms within the first week after returning from your honeymoon – many people forget this step, and employer plans often have specific procedures.
Special Considerations for Second Marriages and Blended Families in Michigan
Second marriages present unique estate planning challenges that require careful navigation of competing interests. When you marry but have children from a previous relationship, Michigan law’s automatic spousal provisions can unintentionally disinherit your children if not properly addressed. The pretermitted spouse provision does not apply to property specifically devised to children born before the marriage who are not the surviving spouse’s children, but this protection only works if your will explicitly makes such gifts. An estate planning lawyer in Michigan can help structure your estate plan to provide for your new spouse while preserving inheritances for children from prior relationships, often using tools like trusts, life insurance, or specific asset designations.
Balancing Current Obligations with Future Security
Michigan law recognizes various factors in estate planning for blended families, including any obligation for support arising out of a prior marriage, the duration of the marriage and the age and physical and mental health of both parties, and the need of a parent with custody of children to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own its household effects. These considerations become particularly important when structuring an estate plan that must balance providing for a current spouse with preserving assets for children. Additionally, all assets bought on credit during the marriage are presumptively purchased on community credit and, therefore, are community assets, though there are ways to overcome this community credit presumption when necessary to protect children’s inheritances.
💡 Pro Tip: Consider creating separate trusts for children from prior marriages and your new spouse – this clarity can prevent disputes and ensure everyone understands their inheritance rights from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Concerns About Will Updates After Marriage
Michigan couples often have pressing questions about how marriage affects their existing estate plans and what steps they must take to protect their interests. Understanding these common concerns helps you prepare for discussions with your estate planning lawyer in Michigan and make informed decisions about your family’s future.
💡 Pro Tip: Write down your questions before meeting with an attorney – estate planning involves many moving parts, and it’s easy to forget important concerns during the consultation.
Next Steps and Legal Process
Taking action to update your estate plan after marriage doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Michigan law provides clear pathways for updating your will, and with proper guidance, most couples can complete the process efficiently while ensuring their wishes are properly documented and legally enforceable.
💡 Pro Tip: Ask your attorney about creating a "marriage checklist" that includes all estate planning updates needed – this ensures nothing gets overlooked during this busy life transition.
1. What happens if I die without updating my will after getting married in Michigan?
Your spouse automatically receives a share of your estate under Michigan’s pretermitted spouse law, even though your will doesn’t mention them. For people who die in 2025, their spouse will inherit the entire estate up to $194,000 (this amount changes yearly based on cost-of-living adjustments), plus additional percentages depending on whether you have surviving descendants or parents. This could significantly reduce what your originally named beneficiaries receive.
2. Can I prevent my new spouse from inheriting if I don’t update my will?
Generally no – Michigan law presumes you’d want to provide for your spouse. However, there are limited exceptions: if you made provisions for your spouse outside the will (like life insurance), if your will explicitly states you’re excluding future spouses, or for property specifically left to children from before the marriage who aren’t your spouse’s children. Even then, your spouse may still claim an elective share.
3. How long do I have to update my will after marriage in Michigan?
While there’s no legal deadline, delaying creates risk. Michigan’s automatic spousal provisions take effect immediately upon marriage. The longer you wait, the more complicated it becomes if something happens. Most attorneys recommend updating within 60-90 days after marriage to ensure your documents reflect your actual wishes.
4. What’s the difference between a pretermitted spouse share and an elective share?
A pretermitted spouse share applies when you had a will before marriage that doesn’t mention your spouse – they receive what they would have gotten if you died without a will. An elective share is a separate right allowing a surviving spouse to claim a portion of your estate regardless of what your will says. In Michigan, a spouse can potentially claim both, though the pretermitted share reduces the elective share amount.
5. Do I need to create an entirely new will after marriage or can I just add amendments?
While you can technically add a codicil (amendment) to your existing will, most attorneys recommend creating a new will after marriage. This ensures clarity, avoids confusion about conflicting provisions, and provides an opportunity to comprehensively review your estate plan in light of your new circumstances. Michigan recognizes three types of wills – handwritten, formal, and statutory – with formal wills being typewritten, signed, and witnessed by at least two people.
Work with a Trusted Estate Planning Lawyer
Marriage transforms more than your relationship status – it fundamentally alters your legal and financial landscape in ways that require professional guidance to navigate properly. When seeking legal assistance for post-marriage estate planning, look for an attorney who understands both Michigan’s specific laws and the unique dynamics of your family situation. Whether you’re in Flint’s historic Carriage Town neighborhood or anywhere else in Michigan, the right legal counsel can help you create an estate plan that protects your spouse while honoring all your relationships and obligations. Remember that estate planning is recommended to be done with consultation from a financial professional or attorney, though some documents can be created independently – the complexity of post-marriage planning typically benefits from professional expertise.
Just tied the knot? Ensure your estate plan doesn’t get left in the dust. Let CF Legal help you navigate these changes effortlessly. Don’t put it off—reach out via 810-232-1112 or contact us today and keep your future secure.